LAS VEGAS--Netgear did it a while ago with the Powerline AV 200 Wireless-N Extender Kit, and now Trendnet has just joined the club. The networking vendor announced today its first HomePlug AV 200Mbps power-line Wireless-N access point, the TPL-310AP.

The full name of the product is the 200Mbps Powerline AV Wireless-N Access Point, and it's essentially a HomePlug AV power-line adapter that can also work as a 300Mbps Wireless-N access point at the far end of the power-line connection.

This is a single unit and therefore will work only in homes where a power-line connection exists. The device will work with any HomePlug AV-compliant power-line adapter, which is basically all of them on the market.

According to Trendnet, all you have to do is plug the device into a power outlet at the corner that you want to extend both the power-line connection and the wireless network to, and the TPL-310AP will take care of the job.

The adapter can connect to others (preferably those from Trendnet, such as the AV Fast Ethernet Adapter Kit TPL-302E2K) quickly via its convenient one-touch Sync button. It supports advanced AES encryption to provide power-line security, and Quality of Service (QoS) technology prioritizes video, audio, and online gaming. It also has embedded power-saving technology that's said to lower power consumption by up to 70 percent in standby mode.

Trendnet says that the built-in 300Mbps Wireless-N access point offers Access Point, Client, WDS, and Mesh mode functionality. It supports one-touch Wi-Fi Protected Setup to connect wireless clients quickly. Advanced features include four concurrent wireless networks (SSIDs) with different encryption for each network.

The 200Mbps Powerline AV Wireless-N Access Point, model TPL-310AP, comes with a three-year limited warranty and will be available in February. It's slated to cost $110.

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CNET editor Dong Ngo has been involved with technology since 2000, starting with testing gadgets and writing code for CNET Labs' benchmarks. He now manages CNET San Francisco Labs, reviews 3D printers, networking/storage devices, and also writes about other topics from online security to new gadgets and how technology impacts the life of people around the world.
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